The Trials of Madness
by Blackswatman99
Summary: Camp Half-Blood is at peace. The Titan War is over, recruitment is at an all time high, and everything seems to be going well. Almost. Turns out, Hades had broken the oath along with his brothers and had a son a couple of years younger then Percy: Thomas Wolfe. He appeared at camp after the war, and a year later, he has his first quest: Find out who kidnapped Mr. D. T for language
1. Chapter 1

The Trials of Madness

Disclaimer: We do not own Percy Jackson or any of the characters in the story (other than the main three). All rights belong to Rick Riordan

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Chapter One  
Thomas

It was a casual summer day in Camp Half-Blood, the sun shone in the sky and the birds were twittering. Personally, I don't really enjoy it all the time, but I like it at times. Oh right, my name is Thomas Wolfe. I'm what most people call goth, and what those informed call a son of Hades. Not really a big difference really.

Also, Greek gods and goddess and the like? Yeah, hate to blow some minds, but they're real. All of them. And they generally have kids with mortals, though it was only recently that most of us demigods got claimed. Really have to thank Percy Jackson for all that, considering what he did for us. Granted I was late being found, but it didn't really matter once I got to camp. Dear old Dad claimed me, and boom I'm in the Hades cabin with a technically younger brother that disappears randomly.

Anyway, I was sitting near the forest, waiting on what, I don't really know. Never really bothered to second guess a feeling, but Fenrir, my Hellhound, needed to be taken out anyway so it was just a bonus. My cane was on the ground next to me, and my leather jacket sat on top of it.  
A booming bark shattered the calm I was experiencing and I reached for my cane, but before I could, a black dog the size of a greyhound shot through the bushes and slammed into me, pinning me to the ground and licking my face. Yeah, Hellhounds get kinda big.

"Alright, I get it, you found me," I said, chuckling as I shoved Fenrir off of me. He barked happily and I threw my coat on, scratching my black hair. I flipped my cane into my hand and walked back into camp, passing satyrs using nature magic to help the strawberry's grow. I frowned slightly.  
Something was still bugging me, scratching at the very end of my mind, and I was so focused on it I ended up bumping against a girl who was walking with some of the Athena cabin members.

"Ow...watch where you're going," the girl said, staring me down. "Sorry about that," I responded, nodding slightly. The girl walked away, her dirty blonde hair flashing slightly in the sun and I grumbled, "Whatever happened to being nice to the cripple?" Another important thing to mention, and I may be doing this for a bit, my leg is slightly damaged. Not enough that it affects my fighting, but I still need a cane most of the time when just walking around. Eases tension and all that.

Fenrir looked up at me, as if asking to chase the girl down and I shook my head. "You're here with me because you're one of the few calm Hellhounds. You're not going to hurt anybody in camp, you should know this by now," I said as we started off again, no real destination in mind, just thoughts on the recent happenings.

Nothing big had happened since the Titan War, other then the prediction Rachel gave right after it. The camp was at an all time high for demigods appearing, my year being just the start of all this. I smiled slightly at my single camp bead on my necklace, a cane that symbolized the second child of Hades appearing at camp.

My feet carried me to the arena where Mrs. O'Leary sat next to a teenager everybody in camp knew. "Percy!" I called with a grin. Percy look over as I walked into the arena, Fenrir following along with a happy look. Fenrir barked and Mrs. O'Leary barked back, twice as loud. "How's everything going?" I asked calmly, leaning on my cane.

"Pretty good. Just a lot more work around her is all, considering how many more campers are showing up each day. Everything alright with you?" he asked. I nodded, knowing what he was talking about. My relationship with my family was strained, considering that my mother and step-father never really want me back home. At times, it can be really stressful, because if I decide to say screw them and stay at camp year-round, I end up getting an angry message from them, delivered by Chiron, the trainer. If I go home, they just complain how I'm not as good as their younger, normal son.

"Fine. I'm tempted to stay all this year, but I don't want to stress Chiron out with all the angry messages Mom is going to send him," I answered. Percy nodded thoughtfully. I sighed and sat down on one of the bottom tiers. "Never know though, I may go home and have them ignore me most of the year," I said with a devious grin.

Percy chuckled and patted me on the shoulder. "I've gotta be heading down to the Big House for a little bit. Chiron wanted to meet with me for something," he said. I nodded slightly and gave a wave as he left the arena, leaving me to care for the two Hellhounds that could easily rip out my throat.  
The gate clicked open and I shook my head slightly. A blonde man wearing glasses walked in, a tattered leather coat over on broad, muscular shoulder. "Sup Thomas," the man asked, setting up a few training dummies without thinking. Thomas stood up and popped his neck. The Hellhounds looked at the scene curiously.

"Nothing much Mark. Was thinking of doing a little training," Thomas said. Mark grinned and flipped a hand-axe out. "Good. I need a sparring partner," he said, moving the dummies. I nodded and threw my sleek black cane up, catching the middle of it and swinging it out, a spear head appearing as the cane lengthened.

"It'll be my pleasure," I said, slapping my wrist. A shield popped out of my skeleton arm band and in the span of a few seconds, I stood with a Stygian iron lance and a bronze shield. Mark pulled off his ring and it quickly turned into a shield that he stuck on his left arm.

"The weaker gets the first move," he said, nodding to me. I frowned in annoyance, knowing he was baiting me. "Then why aren't you moving?" I countered, muscles tensing slightly. Mark's eyebrow twitched and he ran forward with a yell, swinging his ax down onto me.

My arm knew exactly how to move, and my shield blocked his ax, the metal clang resounding all around loudly. Damn, he could hit hard. I pushed him back off me and stabbed at him experimentally with my spear. He knocked it away with his shield and I quickly thrust my own forward, forcing him to step back.

Mark grunted, knowing how I fought, but not being able to react well as I forced him further back, near the center of the arena. I pretended to push him again and he stepped back right as I swung at his legs with the spear pole. The weapon tripped him, and as he fell, my lance was at his throat.

Mark laughed as my cane and armband returned, his ring returning as well. "You always were too clever for your own good, Son of Hades" he said, slapping my arm. I grinned and elbowed him slightly. "And you're almost always a charging beast, Child of Ares," I said, looking up at the beautiful blue sky.

"I'm gonna head back to my cabin for a bit. I need to think a little," I said. Mark nodded. He knew pretty much everything about my life, and understood that I almost always needed time to consider decisions involving family. "Good luck bro," he said, and then he walked off towards the Ares cabin.

After what seemed like an hour of pointless consideration of everything, the hunting horn sounded and it was time for dinner. I stood up and grabbed my cane, walking out of the cabin I normally had to myself, and walked down the lawn towards the pavilion, Fenrir tailing behind me.

As I approached the Greek dining pavilion, I smiled as I saw a kid a couple years younger then I was in a black bomber jacket sitting at the Hades table. I sat down across from him and he smiled. "Brother! I didn't know you were coming back today," I said, returning his smile. Nico D'Angelo was technically my little brother, but he was born way back during World War 2, only stuck in a casino in Las Vegas for years, never aging. Never mattered to either of us, we just sort of dealt with it

He shrugged. "I wasn't expecting to be back so soon, but apparently I'm here. How's Fenrir doing?" he asked, scratching the Hellhound behind the ears. "Fairly well. He's been really great company over the past year," I said as Fenrir barked. Before either of us could speak again, the rest of the cabins finished filling in. Percy waved from the Poseidon table and Nico waved back as Chiron went to the head table. Fun fact, Chiron is a centaur, meaning he has a human torso, but were the legs started, a horse body was in place of that.

Something looked wrong though. I glanced around and frowned as Chiron made announcements, then allowed dinner to begin. I asked my cup for Mountain Dew and stood up, scooping part of my meal into the bronze fire for the gods. As I sat back down, Nico looked at the head table with a similar look of concentration I had.

"You see it too?" I asked. He nodded and turned back. "Where's Mr. D?" we both whispered. I looked at the other tables and instantly knew we weren't the only ones who noticed. "Maybe we'll figure out soon," I said, taking a sip of the greenish yellow drink. Nico fed Fenrir a strip of brisket from his plate and I rubbed the back of his neck.

Dinner ended and everybody gathered around a massive bonfire for a sing-a-long led by Apollo cabin. I sat next to Mark with Nico on my other side and Fenrir laying at my feet. The bonfire was enchanted so that the louder we sang, the bigger and more colorful the flames were. Tonight, it was a bright, cheery color and the flames were massive.

Chiron stepped up near the end of the night and began speaking. "Campers, it has been a wonderful night, but I'm afraid we must retire to our beds and sleep. Goodnight to you all, and sleep well," he said, smiling. I glanced at Nico, who shook his head. Now wasn't the time, obviously.

I woke up the next morning and saw a note sitting on my bedside table. It was from Nico, and he said that he was leaving today and wasn't going to be back for a while. I yawned and slipped into my clothes, Fenrir still sleeping nearby. I patted him awake and opened the door to the obsidian cabin and left for a morning walk.

Fenrir quickly left me behind and dove into the woods, but I wasn't heading there. I started towards the rock wall and popped my neck, setting my cane and coat nearby and smirked. Nobody was on the wall yet, and the lava was still fresh, so I started climbing. The lava rose as I did, but I was faster and made it to the end without burning myself.

A shout from down below made me look down, and I saw Mark standing near my stuff. Weird, he's never up this early. I made made my way down and walked over to him, limping only slightly. "What's up?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. Mark nodded towards the Big House.

"Chiron called for a meeting. Cabin leaders need to head over now," he said as I pulled my coat on. With a nod, I walked towards the Big House, a four story, blue farmhouse that was normally where Chiron met with the cabin counselors. With Nico always gone, I was default head of Hades cabin, so I had to be there.

When I got to the game room, Most everybody was there, Percy sitting next to his girlfriend, the Athena head, Annabeth Chase, the Stoll brothers for Hermes, Clarisse for Ares, and plenty of others who I didn't remember. I'm not good with names. Rachel Dare, our Oracle stood near the head of the ping-pong table.  
I took the other seat beside Percy as Chiron trotted in. No pun intended. "Is everybody here?" he asked. Most everybody nodded. "Good. Now, I believe we all noticed that Mr. D wasn't at dinner yesterday, or the bonfire. Those two incidents were accounted for, because he told me he was being called back to Olympus for some reason. Apparently, he never arrived," Chiron said.

I raised an eyebrow. "So, was he kidnapped or just missing?" I asked curiously. "We are unsure of that at the moment," Chiron answered. "What are we going to do about it? Mr. D is a god, he can handle himself," Clarisse said. "Gods have been kidnapped before though haven't they? Granted something powerful had to have done it, but it's possible," Annabeth said.

Chiron nodded. "Which is why I suggest a quest to find our camp director," he said. A collective groan came from the table. Few people enjoyed Mr. D's company at the camp. Chiron frowned, but before he could speak, I raised a hand. "If you want a quest, I can do it." Everybody looked over at me. I didn't look at anybody but Chiron, the brave look on my face hiding the fact that I was freaking out.

"Why should you get the quest?" Clarisse asked, staring me down with an evil look. I shrugged. "No reason. Just doesn't seem like anybody else is going to volunteer to fight something that can keep a god captured, correct?" I said, finally looking over at her. She looked almost ready to kill me, but that was common considering one of the first days at camp I beat her senseless in the arena.

Chiron spoke up. "I agree with Thomas. He seems like the only volunteer for this quest. All in favor?" he asked, looking over the table. Percy, Annabeth, the Stolls, and most of the table raised their hands in agreement. Clarisse kept glaring at me, but eventually raised her hand as well, making the vote unanimous.  
"So I guess I'll be needing a prophecy," I said, looking to Rachel. I hadn't even finished my sentence before she closed her eyes and swooned. Annabeth and a girl from the Demeter cabin were closest and they jumped up and caught her, sitting her down on one of the free chairs.

_The quest begins with  
The God of the Vine  
War, Death, and Wisdom  
Shall have their time.  
The Trials of Madness  
All must withstand  
Or else they shall soon  
See their end.  
And the Child of Death  
Shall end their fears,  
Or else he loses  
That he finds dear._

Rachel then slumped over in the seat, now fast asleep. Everybody looked over at me. "That was probably one of the most straight-forward prophecy's I've ever heard," Travis Stoll said. Conversation filled the room, everybody trying to figure out my prophecy. "War, death, and wisdom...you're obviously death, so that means that somebody from Athena cabin, and Ares cabin are going to go with you," Annabeth said.

I nodded. "I'll need Mark Tempest as one of my companions then," I said without hesitation. Mark was my friend, and like hell I was leaving my bro behind. "Who are you taking from Athena cabin then?" Percy asked. I started to speak, then stopped. I knew nobody from Athena cabin personally.

Annabeth answered for me. "You could take Mercedes. She's a newer camper, but she's a good archer and just as smart as anybody," she said. I nodded. "Mercedes it is then. If somebody could find her for me, I'll meet with her and Mark in the arena, and we'll leave as soon as we can," I said. I stood up and walked away, now worrying about what the Trials of Madness were.

About twenty minutes later, I was in the arena with Fenrir sitting beside me. Mark opened the gate, followed by a girl with dirty blonde hair. At first, I didn't recognize her, then I chuckled as she glared at my direction. "So you're Mercedes! That's funny," I said, standing up. Both of them had backpacks slung over their shoulders.

"Why are you bringing me on this quest?" she asked, staring me down. Her eyes were a stormy grey, like most Athena cabin members. "You came recommended by your cabin head," I said. She said nothing, just sat down on one of the lower tiers next to Mark. "Alright, I take it you've both heard the prophecy by now?" Both nodded. "Good, one thing I don't have to explain. Come on, let's head to the forest. We're leaving from their," I said, starting towards the woods. Fenrir barked and followed me, while the other two stood up and tailed along.

I cleared my head for a second, breathing in the summer air, before explaining how we were leaving. "Mark knows I can do this, but Mercedes, you don't so just listen. We're leaving by way of Shadow Travel, it's a thing Nico taught me how to do. Basically, if I have a shadow, I can take one other person through it with me and we'll land were I send us. We're going to where Mr. D sent his last Iris message and looking around that area for some clues. It hasn't been long, so we should find something," I said quickly.

Mercedes looked at me like I was crazy, but Mark looked slightly worried. "Didn't you already try to take somebody with you when shadow traveling?" he asked. I nodded, knowing what he was about to say. "I've practiced, don't worry. Fenrir can do it too, so one of you will ride with him, the other with me. The message was sent from central park at night to who, I can't remember," I said.

Mark nodded slightly, and he grabbed my arm as we got to the woods. Mercedes wrapped her hands around Fenrir's collar and I told him where to go. "See you there," I told Mercedes with a smirk as Fenrir ran and disappearing into the tree's shadow. Mark took a deep breath and held on to my coat as I sprinted towards the tree, disappearing and taking him with me.


	2. Chapter 2

Author Note: Good day to all the readers, thanks for checking out our story. Me and my friend decided to write this, and we're just bouncing between chapters right now, taking turns in all of this. If you guys could though, a review would be great, we need to know what we can improve on, and what we can add so we can be better at all of this. Thanks again!  
Disclaimer: We don't own Percy Jackson, or any of the characters mentioned, other than the main group. Percy Jackson belongs to Rick Riordan.

Mark

We emerged from the shadow of a bench in Central Park. I staggered away from Thomas and attempted to throw up. Eventually my empty stomach settled and I regained my composure. I frigging hated shadow travel. Thomas claimed he had mastered it but I still didn't like it. One time he'd tried it with a dummy we'd rigged up. We still haven't found all the body parts. Fenrir emerged from another shadow with an ill looking Mercedes clutching his collar. She repeated my previous action of throwing up while we waited. When she'd recovered we converged.

"Okay, so Mr. D's last Iris message came from somewhere around here. Let's spread out and find clues." After an hour of fruitless searching I gave up kicked a nearby trash can in frustration. "Having trouble?" I nearly jumped out of my skin at the voice and my hand went to my axe on my belt. The speaker was a guy who appeared to be around my age. He was deeply tanned with bright blonde hair and wore a white jogging suit.

"Chill out dude. Don't wave the ax around." "Chill out! You want me to chill out! You shouldn't sneak up on people like that! I should knock you out! I should-. Wait. You can see the ax?" The guy rolled his eyes and I had to resist the urge to punch his pretty boy face. That's a problem with being a son of Ares. You always want to fight and it can get me in some serious trouble. "Of course I can dude. _The mist does not hide. My burning sight can see all. I am so awesome._"

There was only one person on earth or Olympus who could write poetry that bad. "Apollo?" "The one and only." I face-palmed. "Damn it... Mercedes, Thomas, get your asses over here." They jogged up and Thomas threw me a quizzical look. Apollo flashed his blinding grin and stuck out a hand to shake. "What's up dudes? Apollo at your service." Mercedes looked enchanted.

Thomas looked sick. I could understand his feeling. We'd never gotten along with the guys from the Apollo cabin, not since they wrote that ballad mocking Thomas's cane. We stink bombed their cabin with some help of some of the Hermes kids. Done wandering, I tuned back in to Apollo. "The boss man thought you could use some guidance so I dropped by. When the D man went off the grid I was chilling nearby and I picked up some seriously bad mojo. I'm talking Underworld bad. You should try there. Oh and don't eat the tacos. Later."

Apollo started to glow, revealing his true form so he could travel. I covered my eyes so I wouldn't burn to a crisp. The light faded and we were alone. I turned to Thomas. "So what now?" He grimaced. "We go visit dear old dad. And I'm not Shadow Traveling again." "Thank the gods for that."

We flagged down a car on a not so busy street. The car was a nice looking sedan being driven by a dude probably still in college. "You want something bro?" Thomas smiled charmingly and gripped his can tighter. "Yes. Your car." A flick of his wrist and the cane extended into his Stygian iron spear. I have no idea what the mist showed the dude but it must have scared him bad. He kicked open the door and ran screaming down the street.

"Thank you my friend!" Thomas yelled after him and got in the car. Mercedes refused to get in. "That was wrong." Thomas shrugged. "We're going to return it. Besides, what's the harm in it anyway?" "You can't just take things, it's wrong. I'm not getting in a stolen car." Thomas sighed. "Suit yourself. Mark, dump her in the trunk." I moved to do just that and she got in the car, Fenrir climbing in behind her.

9The car ride itself was quite boring. I resigned myself to staring out the window while Thomas screamed at passing drivers on the interstate into Ohio. I had almost drifted off to sleep when this happened. "AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Thomas shouted and slammed on the brakes. The car screeched and swerved off the road, colliding with something . The car lifted into the air and flipped before slamming into the ground, throwing us around like a kid's ball.

The car bounced once more before coming to rest against the side of a building. My head ringing like a gong and entire body was sore but I couldn't feel anything broken. The door was lodged stuck but I managed to kick it open and pull myself out of the wreck. Mercedes appeared to be unconscious, trickles of blood running down her face from a wound I couldn't see. Fenrir was barking madly towards the road, and Thomas was pulling himself out of the shattered remains of the windshield. I grabbed his hand and tried to pull him up. He yelled and I stopped.

He pulled himself up, leaning heavily on his cane. "Well I think my leg is twisted. Can't fight well right now. Good luck Mark," he said. "What the heck are you talking about?" Thomas pointed behind me and started to hobble away. I turned to see what he had pointed at. Standing in the street behind me was a Laestrygonian giant. He was huge, easily towering over me.

His white tank top was stained and filthy, as were his ripped jeans. He roared and I could smell his putrid breath from all the way over there. "Children of the gods! I am Billy! I will be your death! You will never find the wine god! Which of you will face me!" I laughed and cracked my knuckles. "Thomas, help Mercedes. I got this joker." I gripped my ax and expanded my ring into my shield. "Hey! Right here you over-sized hillbilly!"He growled and stared down at me. "Puny mortal! Will you face me, the destroyer of heroes, the master of- AAAAARRRRGGHHHH!" He cried as I sunk my ax into his foot. That's a trait I tend to have. I don't like being kept waiting if there's a fight involved.

I ripped the ax out of his foot and swung at his ankle. He roared at me and tried to squash me with his fist. "Impudent pest! Stand still and let me squash you!" I rolled to the side just before his fist made a crater in the asphalt. He tried again and again I rolled, but this time I rolled between his legs. I shrunk my shield and leaped up, catching his shirt in my free hand. I pulled myself up till I was chest level with his head. I buried my axe deep in his neck, pulled out and struck again. He shook like a raging bull, desperately trying to throw me off.

After a few more strikes I heard the snap of bone and my ax blade cleaved through his neck. I dropped off and watched as the giant thrashed and disintegrated into a cloud of golden dust. I strapped the ax to my waist and turned back to the wreck of our car. Mercedes was awake now and Thomas was leaning on her for support, with Fenrir holding up one of his paws. "Anybody know where we can find a motel?"


End file.
